STOCKS NEWS US-BofA-ML upgrades Aetna, cuts Cigna

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0719 EST 9March2010-BofA
ML upgrades Aetna, cuts Cigna

Bank of America-Merrill Lynch on Tuesday upgraded Aetna Inc to 'neutral' from 'underperform,' saying the company could be 'positioned for favorable development in 2010.'

The firm added that the health insurer had built adequate reserves and that there was now a more balanced risk/reward profile for the company.

At the same time, BofA-ML downgraded peer insurer Cigna Corp to 'underperform,' citing 'relative underperformance.'

'We see more upside elsewhere in the space given our incrementally more bullish view on Aetna,' it wrote.

Shares of Aetna closed Monday at $31.22 while Cigna closed at $34.76.

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0705 EST 9March2010
BP ADRs slide, faces safety fines for refinery

BP Plc was accused of more problems at its U.S. operations on Monday, as the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited dozens of safety violations at a refinery in Toledo, Ohio, that could cost the energy giant more than $3 million in fines.

OSHA's announcement came five months after the agency slapped BP with a record $87.4 million fine for failing to fix safety problems at its giant Texas City, Texas, refinery. A March 2005 explosion there killed 15 workers and injured 180 other people.

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U.S.-listed shares of BP slid 1.1 percent to $55.56 in premarket trading on light volume.

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0702 EST 9March2010
Marsh & McLennan puts Kroll unit up for sale: FT

Marsh & McLennan Cos Inc, the No. 2 global insurance broker, has put its security consulting business Kroll up for sale for $1.3 billion and received offers from several major private equity firms in the first round of bidding, the Financial Times reported. Three firms, Carlyle Group, Apax Partners and General Atlantic, submitted bids in late February in first expressions of interest, the paper reported, citing sources.

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Shares of Marsh closed Monday at $23.72.

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0659 EST 9March2010-Employers less willing to hire
Manpower survey

U.S. employers are slightly less willing to hire workers in the coming quarter than they were three months ago, even as hiring intentions improved in most other countries and territories, especially in Asia, according to a quarterly survey by Manpower Inc.

Its U.S. survey renewed questions about the pace and sustainability of a forecasted U.S. jobs recovery, and whether eventual jobs creation will make much of a dent in the ranks of the 17 million unemployed Americans.

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0657 EST 9March2010
Earnings and economic diaries for March 9

The only S&P 500 company scheduled to report quarterly results on Tuesday is Kroger Co.

Economic indicators on tap include the March IBD economic optimism number.

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